Transitional Times

about this album

West African musical heritages do not get weightier than the one to which Gambian kora player Dawda Jobarteh belongs. His grandfather was Alhaji Bai Konte (1920-83), who was to the kora what Ravi Shankar is to the sitar. Bai Konte was the first kora player to take the instrument to the US, performing there in the early 1970s, and, more than that, his recordings remain the benchmark against which younger players are measured. Between grandfather and grandson are Jobarteh's father, Amadou Bansang Jobarteh, and his uncles Malamini Jobarteh and Dembo Konte, each a distinguished player. Dawda Jobarteh, however, gives tradition a twist. Born in 1976, he learned music at the feet of uncle Malamini, but playing the calabash, and acquired his own kora only after relocating to Denmark in 1999. By geography and inclination—Jobarteh is active on the Danish jazz, world and avant-rock scenes—he is both part of and apart from roots kora music. His grandfather can be heard in his filigreed runs and serene melodicism, but a lot of other things can be heard, too. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.

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Sama Kebbalu (Ben Gomori's Lead by Example Edit)